I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to microwave lenses and, more particularly, to a gradient index microwave lens which utilizes a plurality of electronic inductive capacitive resonators arranged in a planar array.
II. Description of Related Art
The field of metamaterials continues to grow in popularity. Such metamaterials exhibit properties in response to electromagnetic radiation which depends on the structure of the metamaterials, rather than their composition.
Most of the interest in metamaterials, however, has focused on metamaterials which exhibit a negative refractive index. Such a negative refractive index is possible where both the permittivity as well as the permeability of the material is negative.
One difficulty with negative index metamaterials, however, is that they are difficult to construct and also result in high attenuation of incident radiation. Furthermore, none of the previously known metamaterials have been employed for use with a gradient index lens for microwave radiation.